SimCity Sells More Than 1 Million at Launch

Despite users encountering many problems with the game’s always-online feature, Electronic Arts is reporting that SimCity sold more than 1 million at launch. Here’s the press release:

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) today announced that SimCity recorded more than 1.1 million units sold through in the first two weeks, making this the biggest SimCity launch of all time. Roughly 54 percent of those sales have been of digital versions of the game, downloaded directly to players PCs via Origin or other digital download services.

SimCity had a great weekend with sales strong across both North America and Europe, adding to overwhelming demand at launch that has us tracking well beyond expectations for the game, said Peter Moore, Chief Operating Officer for EA. SimCity is one of the storied brands in gaming, and Maxis delivered a game re-envisioned and engineered for the online age.

Gamers have logged on to SimCity via Origin in record numbers, with 44 percent of SimCity sales delivered via EAs direct-to-consumer digital download service. SimCity gamers have also helped set new records for peak concurrent users on Origin, now at 1.3 million and rising.

In just two weeks:
– SimCity players have logged more than 15 million hours of online gameplay.
– More than 5.7 million original cities have been created since launch.
– More than 780 million buildings have been built.
– SimCity mayors to date have built enough road and railroad tracks to circle the globe more than 40,000 times.

The Maxis studio also continues to enhance both the core SimCity game and the online service infrastructure; in the last two weeks, they have increased server capacity by more than 400%, optimized server response times by 40 times, and deployed fixes to address players’ direct feedback on game performance.

Everything is intelligently simulated in this new SimCity, from all of the Sims in a city, to every kilowatt of power pulsing through a region thanks to the powerful GlassBox Engine. It is the most expansive city management game yet where multi-city gameplay across regions delivers a larger playing field. No longer are players relegated to playing one single city, now they can manage and play up to 16 cities at once. Each city can have different specializations; they can share services and trade resources; they can help or even hinder each other; every decision a player makes in each city has impact in the broader region. Its up to the player to decide where and how they play.

For the first time in the series multiplayer is added to the gameplay giving players a new dimension to the game, as decisions impact both the city and the region, creating new ways to play by collaborating or competing to earn achievements. Underpinning SimCity is a live service that simulates real-time updates and pushes them to players in the form of new challenges and achievements. Players will track their progression alongside their friends and the world for the most polluted city, the richest city and more. Whether players play by themselves, with their friends or with the rest of the world, SimCity will challenge players to create the city of their dreams and answer the question  what kind of mayor will you be?

SimCity is available now worldwide on PC via Origin and retail stores. SimCity is rated E10+ by the ESRB.